Year 3 Science Light Block 3L Light and Shadows

Year 3 Science Light – Block 3L – Light and Shadows

Session 6: What a Performance!
Science curriculum area: Light / i) recognise that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object
Working Scientifically (LKS2) / i) making systematic and careful observations
ii) reporting on findings from enquiries, including oral and written explanations
Teaching Objectives / · To actively investigate the use of coloured acetate filters for mixing beams of coloured light and to look through
· To use all their previously gained knowledge and skills during this block of sessions to create a fabulous shadow puppet performance
Other Curriculum areas / Design Technology
i) build and apply a repertoire of knowledge, understanding and skills in order to design and make high-quality prototypes and products for a wide range of users
Teaching Objectives / · Use coloured acetates/ light filters to create coloured shadows and coloured light for dramatic effect in their shadow puppet performance
Key Vocabulary recapping on all the vocabulary learnt during this block
Resources:
Shadow puppet theatres made previously, shadow puppets made previously, a selection of A4 coloured acetate sheets cut into small rectangles suitable for the chn to use on their puppets and torches, a number of bright torches, sticky tape, scissors, A3 white paper, copies of the quiz sheet and task sheets. / Weblinks
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z87jmp3 - shadow puppets.
Whole Class: Before the session read the Teachers’ Notes to determine how you want the chn to do the Light and Shadows Quiz (either an individual assessment on their knowledge and understanding of the 3L content or a revision quiz in theatre groups).
Over the last few sessions we have become experts on light and shadows. Let’s begin with a quiz to discover just how much we know! Give out the quiz sheets (either to groups or individuals – see Teachers’ Notes). Show the Quiz PowerPoint. Either collect the sheets in after the quiz or show the Answers PowerPoint so that the chn can mark their sheets. Congratulate everyone on their expertise! Now we are ready to begin thinking about our shadow puppet shows. But first let’s get some ideas by watching some shadow puppeteers in action. Show the film clip. What did you think of the puppets and the part of the show you saw? What was good about it? Gather ideas. They may include: exciting story and good puppets. Tease out the fact that there were cut out sections on the puppets with coloured shiny material stuck over them. Slide the play bar back to 1:00 and watch 15 seconds again. Manju the puppeteer explained that the farmer had red coloured gel behind his turban. Coloured gel is another name for coloured acetate/ plastic sheets like these - show examples. Remember that white light is made of a spectrum of 7 different colours, and these sheets block (or filter out) some of the coloured light. For example the red acetate, only reflects red light because it absorbs (filters out) all the other colours! That is why it looks red to us, because only the red light bounces off it into our eyes. When light shines through the red acetate, the acetate lets through the red light and absorbs all the other colours. The light shining through is red. The other colours do the same, absorbing some colours and reflecting or letting through the others. Let’s have some fun with these coloured sheets. Divide the chn into 2 groups (keeping theatre groups together) so they can spend a few minutes investigating these 2 simple tasks before swapping over.
Activities:
Teacher support as required (see Teacher’s Notes) / Mixing Coloured Light (in a darkened space)
Use torches and coloured acetates in theatre groups to investigate the effect of mixing beams of coloured light. A task sheet is provided to help structure the activity. / Investigating Coloured Filters
Use rectangles of coloured acetates to investigate the effect of looking through light filters. A task sheet is provided to help structure the activity.
Whole Class (once again): What happened when we mixed the 3 coloured beams of light? Yes we got a white beam of light. Can any one think why? Well remember white light is made of a spectrum of different colours, so when we mix beams of coloured light together it begins to look white. If we mixed a beam of every colour of the rainbow the result would be pure white. What happened when we looked through the coloured acetates? Yes the world looked that colour. Our brains tried to mix the colours when each eye looked through different coloured acetate. What happened when you looked through several different colours at once? It was dark. This was because each acetate was filtering or blocking different colours from the white daylight. Very little light could get through to your eyes. We can use coloured acetates to help with our shadow puppet performance. We could add some colour sections to the puppets so they cast coloured shadows or we could even use some acetate over our light source for a particular scene in the show, e.g. red for a sunset scene or green for a scary monster scene! Now it’s time to work on your own shadow puppet performance (if you are working towards a public performance you will probably be scheduling much more rehearsal time). Darken the room for this.
Plenary / Keeping the room dark, encourage groups to show a short section or scene from their shadow puppet show to the class. Invite the class to praise what they enjoyed and offer a suggestion for further improvement.
Outcomes / Children will
· Undertake a quiz on all their learning on light and shadows covered in this block of sessions
· Investigate mixing beams of coloured light by covering torches with different coloured acetate
· Investigate looking through different colours of acetate to filter different coloured light
· Work on producing their own shadow puppet play with puppets they have made

We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.